McFarland Choclate Fest

12 Jul McFarland Choclate Fest

Letter to the McFarland Thistle Editor

By Meg Neilsen

Thank you so much for the excellent coverage you gave to the McFarland Historical Society’s first Chocolate Fest. Your willingness to provide articles and photographs about our Featured Baker, the Silent Auction, and the event itself helped to insure its success.

We are happy to report that the Chocolate Fest brought in somewhere around $3,500 through ticket sales, the Silent Auction, and private donations towards the preservation of the Larson House. After our very few expenses have been paid and with the proposed matching funds from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and an anonymous donor, our total benefit could reach $7,000.

The McFarland Historical Society and the Chocolate Fest organizers are extremely grateful to Featured Baker Jane Paulin for providing her amazing chocolate creations. They were professionally crafted and presented as well as being decadently delicious.

We also wish to thank everyone who baked and brought their best chocolate desserts to the event. Who knew there could be so many ways to enjoy chocolate?

We are grateful to the musicians who donated their time by performing easy-listening music for the enjoyment of all who attended the event. We are also grateful to the individuals and businesses of McFarland and southeast Madison for contributing items to our Silent Auction and to McFarland State Bank and the Associated Bank of McFarland for selling tickets. The support of these businesses speaks well of the meaningful investment our business people have made in the life of this community. Kudos to the McFarland House Café for donating Ancora coffee and Door Creek Orchard for donating the apple cider.

We are thankful to all the volunteers who helped organize, set up, serve and clean up after the event, including the custodial staff of the McFarland Municipal Center who helped us out with the clean-up.

It has been a joy and a privilege to be a part of the planning and creation of McFarland’s very first Chocolate Fest. Special thanks to the McFarland Historical Society Board of Directors for their willingness to say “yes” to this project and to all who embrace the idea of a beautifully restored Larson House at the center of our beloved community.

I look forward to the next Chocolate Fest and encourage all of you to watch the Thistle for the announcement of when that might be. Mark your calendar and plan to be there.